The Creatures Within
by Kenji Hyuga White tiger
Summary: A one-shot where Harry and a few others spend a transfiguration class discovering their animagus forms. McGonagall helps interpret their forms. A little Harry, Professor McGonagall bonding. Please Review


**Hello anyone who is reading! I haven't written a story in a while and figured I'd try and make one. I hope you like it, review with any thoughts and have a Merry Christmas!**

**The Creatures Within**

Harry quickly walked towards the Transfiguration classroom, carrying his books in his arms. He rushed in just as the bell rung and took a spot at the back of the class. Ron and Hermione were doing service work in Hogsmeade, so he was left in class nearly alone. In fact that there were only three other seventh years in the class, Neville, Draco Malfoy and Lavender Brown, who he supposed wasn't exactly cut out for service work.

'Great, Harry thought to himself, a class where the most vocal person here is a bigot.' He quickly gathered his wits as Professor McGonagall marched into class.

" Seeing as there are so few of you here," she began," I figured we'd do something somewhat fun today." Perking up a bit, Harry watched as McGonagall pulled four small vials out of one of her desk drawers.

"These," she continued," are animagus potions. They will temporarily turn you into your the animal form you would take if you were to become an animagus."

Harry and Neville exchanged excited glances before again paying attention. Mcgonagall motioned them all forward before moving the desks towards the sides of the classroom.

"Don't get to excited scarhead," Malfoy whispered as he pushed Harry to the back of the line," you're probably just a worm or something."

"Well we already know your a ferret, Malfoy," Harry whispered back.

Neville sniggered as Malfoy tinged with pink before stepping behind Lavender. Harry quickly forgot his victory when Professor McGonagall began speaking again.

"Now Lavender, you will step into the middle of the room and simply drink the potion. Within a minute you will began transforming into you're animal form and will stay in that form for another thirty seconds or so before once again becoming human."

Lavender nodded her understanding before taking the potion from McGonagall and stepping into the center of the room. The other four watched as she drank the potion and made a face. Then, she suddenly changed. One second she was there and the next she had become a small rabbit, hopping on the floor.

"Ah, just as I thought," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

"What do you mean ' as you thought'?" Malfoy questioned rudely.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I have been fortunate enough to be able to study animagus transformations and have learned how to determine what most people will transform into."

As she spoke Lavender 'popped' back into humanity and looked at them.

" What was I?" she asked excitedly.

"You transform into a rabbit, Ms. Brown," The Scottish Professor said with a slight smile.

Lavender gave a quick giggle and then sat down in a nearby chair.

"Professor," Harry asked, still curious," how can you tell what animal a person will transform into?"

Professor McGonagall gave him a quick smile before beginning," Well, Mr. Potter, it is easiest and most reliable to simply summarize a person. What I mean by this is you take their traits, their personality, even their looks to a lesser degree, and find what animal is most similar to them in these things."

The class nodded in understanding before Malfoy suddenly stepped forward.

"My turn!" he announced grabbing and swallowing the potion before walking to the center of the room. The others watched as Malfoy stood with a smirk on his face before disappearing in a whirl of color.

In his place was a rather large bird, something like an eagle. Remembering what McGonagall said, Harry realized the creature did appear something like Malfoy. It had a slightly superior look about it and even had blond feathers down the back of its head. It gave a great flap of its wings and then Malfoy was back.

"Well, what was I?" he asked, trying to not appear too eager.

"You were a blond eagle, Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall told him. Malfoy shot a superior look over at Harry and Neville before sitting down next to Lavender.

"Did you guess his animal too, Professor?" Lavender asked McGonagall interestedly.

" Yes, I did, Miss Brown. At first I thought he would perhaps be a falcon, but Mr. Malfoy's superior attitude made me guess he was an eagle."

Malfoy frowned slightly, but refocused as Neville took his potion and stepped forward. He stood nervously for a whole minute before he too disappeared in a flsh of color. Standing in his place was a simple grey wolf. It paced for a second before Neville too turned back into a human.

"A grey wolf, Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall said with a smile on her lips, " a handsome one too." Neville smiled at his head of house before taking a seat next to Lavender. "Your loyalty and fierceness towards on behalf of your friends are what determined your form, Mr. Longbottom." Neville looked positively ecstatic whereas, Draco rolled his eyes.

"Your turn Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said with surprisingly, a frown. When Harry cocked an eyebrow at her she sighed. "I am just curious as to what you will be Harry." Harry gave a slight nod before stepping into the middle of the room and downing the contents of his vial. A nasty taste, like pus, filled his mouth. Before he had time to contemplate this horrible flavor, though, his world suddenly began spinning.

When colors stopped flashing before his eyes, Harry looked around. His vision was sharper and he suddenly felt acutely aware of all of his surroundings. He looked over to see his three classmates looking at him with what appeared to be awe. Professor McGonagall as well appeared to be somewhat stunned. Before he even had time to think why, however, he was again forced into a vibrantly dizzying world. W

When he again opened his eyes, he was standing at the same place he had left, now with his regular senses. "What was I?" he asked his Head of House, filled with excitement.

She swallowed, "Harry, you were a White Phoenix."

Harry gulped before quietly asking," Were you able to guess my form?" Professor McGonagall and gave a shake of her head. She seemed to be thinking deeply. However, she quickly snapped out of it and sat them down in a row to take notes on what personalities go with what types of animals. The bell rang soon after, and McGonagall dismissed them. As Harry was leaving, he heard a "Mr. Potter, come here please." He walked back into the classroom and stood before his professor's desk.

"Yes?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively.

"Oh, for God's sake Potter you aren't in trouble." his Head replied exasperatedly.

He smiled slightly before sitting down in a nearby chair.

" I just thought you should know Harry," she began, surprising Harry by using his first name," That it is very rare to have a magical animagus form, such as your phoenix form."

"Oh," Harry said, surprised," I didn't know that, living with my relatives and all."

"I figured so," McGonagall said before continuing," And your form being a white phoenix is also highly unusual. This is because there have been only three recorded white phoenixes in history." Harry raised his eyebrows, stunned, as she continued.

"Two of these phoenixes were wild, but the third was owned by Merlin himself."

Harry slowly absorbed this before asking," so why do I transform into a white phoenix?"

"Well, that's what I was thinking about," his teacher replied," being a phoenix probably has to do with your personality, but the fact that you're a white phoenix would have to mean that there is also a magical influence on your animagus form."

"Do you think," Harry began hesitantly," that it has something to do with Voldemort's killing curse?"

McGonagall flinched slightly before lapsing into silence.

"Harry," she said, after several minutes of silence," I think it has nothing to do with Voldemort."

"But other than having survived the killing curse, there's not anything special about me magically," Harry protested.

"That is not true Harry," McGonagall said, somewhat sternly," And besides, if Voldemort's magical influence were a deciding factor in your animagus transformation, then I doubt you would be a white phoenix."

Harry nodded, not entirely assured.

McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Potter the reason you are a white phoenix is probably due to the fact that you are so inherently _good." _ The fact that you are willing to sacrifice yourself for not only those you love, but also those you don't is a trait many do not have."

Harry sat, stunned that his professor had spoken as though he was amazing. And to his surprise, she chuckled at him.

"Contrary to popular belief Mr. Potter I do care a great deal about my students and know a lot about them." She then graced him with a rare smile before continuing. "Now as insightful as this experience with you has been, I'm sure you are hungry, goodness knows your Father always was."

Harry, knowing he was being dismissed, stood up and headed for the door. As he reached it, he turned.

"Professor…" He started, not sure what to say. She turned to him and simply smiled, and Harry knew she understood.

"Thank you."

**Again guys, thanks for reading, I did my best choosing animagus forms, but see what you think. **


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